Breaking into the comedy scene is funny, but it’s not all fun and games. Up-and-coming jokesters need perseverance, focus, creativity and energy. But now they have some good news: The Big Thing at the Laughing Devil Comedy Club. Starting April 3 and repeating every Wednesday until May 8, the LIC venue will host talented performers who will compete to be the next Big Thing. Bringing their A-Games to show off for the audience and the club bookers, these performers have been vetted by the club. Those who bring down the house earn the coveted position of club regular. The show also features some special guest headliners.

Tony Bennett might have left his heart in San Francisco and Virginia might be for lovers, but Queens is romantic royalty. On Valentine’s Day, the borough will overflow with enchanting places to stay, eat, giggle, listen or dance the night away. In fact, there are so many options that QNYC can only report a few of them and parts of their offers.

Staycation: Various hotels, such as Z, Marco and Holiday Inn Citi Field, are offering packages good during the few weeks around February 14. Stay at the Z and choose between Naughty and Nice to receive handcuffs and blindfolds or an in-room massage and breakfast in bed. Hunker down at the Marco and you get to dine at its sister restaurant, Magna, which won Best Entree at Queens Taste 2012. Over at Holiday Inn Citi Field, guests will consume chilled champagne and chocolates in their king-size bed.

Ophira Eisenberg is probably most famous for hosting Ask Me Another, a trivia and puzzle show on National Public Radio. But the Calgary native once had her own humor-filled program on CTV Television Network and she has made countless appearances on Comedy Central, VH-1, E! Channel, the Oxygen Network and the Discovery Channel. On January 10, Eisenberg will headline LGBT Laughfest 2013, also known as Queens of Queens, at the Laughing Devil, NYC’s only outerborough comedy club. She will be followed by a veritable Who’s Who of LGBT funnypeople, including Adam Sank (NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Sirius-XM’s OutQ), MAC Award-winner Danny Cohen (Comedy Central’s Premium Blend) and Cara Kilduff (Here-TV’s Hot Gay Comics and co-host of Queens Public Television’s Talking About). Biggest Loser champ Poppi Kramer, the warm-up comic for the Bill Cunningham Show, will be the mistress of ceremonies.

Thanks to a few of our favorite venues such as The Laughing Devil in Long Island City, which hosts hot traveling acts like TrueTV funnyman Mike Trainor and is home to an awesome bi-weekly Devil Science Theater 3000 event that encourages comedy-loving patrons to heckle cheesy cult films for a mere $5, it’s becoming increasingly easier to see smart and seriously funny comedy in Western Queens. We caught up with Carrie Gravenson, one of Astoria’s own standup queens, who tells us where to see some of the brightest and funniest in the borough.

Mike Trainor is an equal opportunity offender. The Astoria resident is currently seen in the series truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest, where he makes fun of the most pathetic criminals, drivers, party animals, etc. on the planet. In 2009, he made a particularly big splash with the book 101 Fat Things, a compilation of jokes about eating and his lifelong love of food. On January 4 and January 5, this comedian will do two shows each night at the Laughing Devil Comedy Club with Kevin McCaffrey, a contributing monologue writer for David Letterman who is also part World’s Dumbest. Caveat emptor: the audience might be a terrific source of material.

Okay, so everybody has heard the jokes about Jewish people going to a movie and eating Chinese food on Christmas. Well, today, December 25, people of all faiths can spend a few hours laughing at a new jokes by comedians whose families come from the flick-wonton soup stereotype/tradition. The Laughing Devil hosts some of the top Jewish comics in the business as the King Davids of Comedy. Headlined by Myq Kaplan of Letterman Show fame, other Davids include Adam Newman, Harrison Greenbaum and Aaron Glaser. These mensches present their hilarious schtick as the great tradition of Jewish comedians continues. Move over Vaudeville, here comes Long Island City!

The Laughing Devil comedy club in Long Island City hosts this comedy showcase featuring “eight of the best comedians in the world” trying out their material for college and university booking agents. Co-owner and comedian Steve Hofstetter is opening some seats to the general public, which means you get to see the next best college comedians – including the surreal and sidesplitting Victor Varnado – before their potential big breaks. Admission includes a food item and a non-alcoholic drink from the menu.

Stop by the Queens County Market Saturday, taking place again at the Laughing Devil comedy club. The Queens County Market is a collection of food artisans made up of bakers, chefs and other food entrepreneurs providing a sampling of the great diversity of food available in Queens. See our writeup of August’s Queens County Market to get your mouth watering.